Oak exposed back staircase in barn conversion

This staircase is manufactured "exposed back", meaning the underside of the stairs can be left exposed and still look attractive.
On a "Standard Construction" staircase, the underside has glue blocks and wedges and must be covered by plasterboard or similar. 
"Exposed Back" staircases are more expensive. However, give an exciting feature to a property. 

The majority of staircases have walls around the outside as a minimum. However, this staircase doesn't. As such, it requires a balustrade around both the inside and outside. 
Also, because it's freestanding, all the posts need to drop down to meet the floor to support the stairs.

The post caps on this staircase are unusual in that they have both a groove and a pyramid cap.
We usually only recommend one or the other, i.e. a groove (shadow cap) or pyramid cap.
However, we can do this on request by making the post taller and manually adding a groove.

In a scenario like this, there is only one tread before the turn.
You have three options, either:

• Strings are exposed, and no balustrade.
• Posts and balustrade on the first tread.
• A feature tread.

Using a feature tread when there's one or two treads before the first turn makes a lot of sense, as it looks great and is often cheaper.

Feature treads also have the advantage of making the room feel bigger.

As standard, posts & spindles on stairs are square. However, on this staircase, the client opted to have them "stop chamfered", which is the extra detail on each edge seen in the photos.
Stop chamfered balustrade gives a different look which can suit both traditional and modern interiors.

When there's a 90° turn, such as on these stairs, it's possible to either have:

• A kite winder (3 treads in turn).
• A quarter landing (1 tread in turn).

Regardless of the chosen option, the total number of treads in the staircase will be the same. As such, using a kite winder is more space-efficient.

Although it would have been possible to use a quarter landing on this staircase, you would need two steps before the turn.